[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/devilman_8827.jpg]][[caption-width-right:300:If you think that this image is frightening, turn around because you have seen NOTHING.]]

''Devilman'' was a {{manga}} and {{anime}} series that combined superhero tropes with supernatural horror. It was made by the famous Japanese author Creator/GoNagai in the 1970s. It became enormously popular and influential in Japan and was later adapted in the form of a {{OVA}} and a live action movie. There was a animated {{crossover}} movie in which Devilman met another of Nagai's famous creations, ''Anime/MazingerZ''.

In it, a boy named Akira, discovers the Earth is being invaded by demons. His friend Ryo convinces him that the only way to stop the demons is to have him merge with one of them. Akira gains the ability to transform into a superpowerful, batlike demon. As Devilman, he fights bizarre demons, most notably the harpy-like Siren, and the turtle-like Jinmen, while still trying to lead a normal life.

While the TV series was dark by {{shonen}} anime standards, the manga and most other versions are pure horror, filled with things like graphic violence and dismemberments.

The events of ''Devilman'' lead into Nagai's later sequel series, ''Manga/ViolenceJack.''

To promote the final [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVA]] Apocalypse of Devilman in 1999, Go Nagai resurrected the manga in two forms; one is a collection of short stories entitled ''Neo-Devilman'' where he and many other writers/artists (17 to be precise) contribute to the Devilman mythos with their own spin-offs and visions for the original tale, the other is where Nagai teamed up with Yuu Kinutani to create a 6 Volume manga simply called ''AMON'', which is centered around and expanding the events between humanity's persecution of demon/human hybrids in anticipation of the final battle between Devilman and Satan. Go Nagai scripts and Yuu Kinutani provides pencils with high detailed art. In 2005 they two teamed up again to create ''Strange Days'', a single manga volume centered around a group of Devilmen, Kira and Ryuu, clashing at Devilman vs. Satan's final battle; it tells their story of how their rivalry came to be during the persecution against Devilmen.

Another Nagai series, ''Manga/DevilmanLady'', was a reinterpretation of the original series except that he switched the characters' genders switched and provided pseudoscientific explanation for the "demons". It was similarly violent and controversial.

A new Devilman manga, ''Devilman Grimoire'', began running in Champion Red magazine on 19 April 2012. It is written by Go Nagai and illustrated by Rui Takato. A {{Reboot}} of the original manga, it starred Akira Fudo and Miki Makimura, who believes herself to be a witch. It features many characters from the original Devilman. It remains to be seen whether this series is connected to previous series of the Devilman universe (''Devilman'', ''Violence Jack'', ''Devilman Lady'' and ''Shin Violence Jack''), or whether it is set in an alternate universe.

On 25 December 2014 ''Devilman Saga'' was released in Shogakukan. It is written and drawn by Go Nagai and its main character is Yuki Fudo, a Japanese roboticist who is called in to study a strange and ancient mural from Antarctica. According to promotional material, it is the final chapter in the original Devilman storyline.

Devilman appears in the MassiveMultiplayerCrossover game, ''VideoGame/SundayVSMagazineShuuketsuChoujouDaikessen''. A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39anQm12y5s crossover OVA trilogy]] with ''Manga/{{Cyborg 009}}'' called ''Cyborg 009 VS Devilman'' came out in October 2015, celebrating the franchise's 50th Anniversary. It received a worldwide release streaming on Creator/{{Netflix}} in April 2016, complete with an all new English dub.

----!!Trope examples:

* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: In the second OVA, Akira fights Jinmen in what could be considered this.* ActionGirl: Miki but only in the original manga, where she borders on being a Sukeban. She's downgraded to more of a {{neutral female}}. In contrast Miko becomes a bit of a demon hunter in the third OVA and is something of a right-hand-lady to Akira.** Miki is also this in ''Devilman Grimoire'', where she is shown [[http://mangafox.me/manga/devilman_grimoire/v01/c001/16.html punching out Himura]] after he and Dosu Roku's gang accost her and Akira. Afterwards she brags about it while having dinner with Akira and her family. And now, after 40 years, [[spoiler: Miki has finally become a Devilman herself.]]* AdaptationNameChange: The original anime series translates Akira's last name as Hudo rather than Fudo. ** the series also changes the name of Miki's younger brother from Tare to Tone. * ADateWithRosiePalms: Mikiko's (Miko) chapter in ''Neo-Devilman'', her first pages in the story has her touching herself while in deep thought as for why she doesn't see herself as a good girl. In this vision that's even how she became a devilmen in the first place, apparently demons like to possess girls at their ''moments''.* ADayInTheLimelight: ''Neo-Devilman'' is basically this, given that it was made by ''17 different writers/artists'', everyone with a pencil and ink had a chance to share their view of the characters and portray some side-characters in a more protagonist light.

* AndIMustScream: Victims of the turtle-like demon Jinmen are doomed to live an eternity as a tile in his shell.** He does it again in chapter 0 of ''Devilman Grimoire'' [[spoiler: where he mocks a Harpy by revealing he ate her boyfriend and then eats her next.]]* AllYourPowersCombined: Agira from ''Neo-Devilman''. His Devilmen power is to absorb and assimilate anything into his body from weapons to demons and Devilmen. He eventually absorbs ''legions'' of demons. In this version, Agira is the unnamed giant beast from the original manga that Devilman rides into the final battle against Satan with his multi-headed dragon.* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: In contrast with the original manga where [[spoiler:Miki dies and Devilman Akira loses faith in humanity to fight only for his Devilmen army]], the LighterAndSofter anime has Akira solely focused in protecting Miki and not much else; needless to say [[spoiler:she survives in this adaptation]]* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: The short sequel for the ''AMON'' manga, ''Strange Days'' features a whole new cast of characters, whom some will become Devilmen and clash at the Devilman vs. Satan final battle, the focus is Kira and Ryuu, and their band ''THE FLYERS''.* AntiHero: Akira (Devilman), Ryo before his [[spoiler: FaceHeelTurn]].* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler: Even the main character and his sweetheart.]]* [[spoiler: ApocalypseHow: Class 0 or class 3 at the end of the manga.]]* ArsGoetia: The inspiration for the MixAndMatchCritter Demon Designs and for the names of the demon Akira takes over (Amon), and the demon Caim.** In ''Devilman Grimoire'' Miki loved playing as a witch as a child because of the stories she read about Solomon who could control the Goetia Demons.* AscendedExtra: Amon, the original demon whom Akira's Devilman form take its powers from, stops being merely a past legacy mentioned in the original manga, to being given a personality and form in the final OVA and even more in the manga with his name; in it Amon actually takes over Akira's entire body, both in demon and human form thus being promoted to protagonist.* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: In the anime series, instead of just horrendous demons clashing against Devilman in dark scenarios as seen in the manga, the animated adaptation often had giant monsters randomly attacking a nearby building, for this reason Akira was given extra powers for this adaptation: not only he could transform into Devilman but he also could transform into a ''Giant'' Devilman to fend off these monsters.* BigBadFriend: [[spoiler:Ryo to Akira.]]* BigNo: Akira [[spoiler: after he discovers the anti-demon corps killed Miki's parents.]]* BloodstainedGlassWindows * BreakingSpeech: [[spoiler: Jinmen gives Akira one about how the demons are justified by BlueAndOrangeMorality, and how Akira is clearly the bad guy for killing demons. Akira [[ShutUpHannibal tells him to go fuck himself.]]]]* BroadStrokes: Yes, the ''Demon Knight'' prequel manga does explain a few things, like why Satan is a hermaphrodite [[spoiler: (he/she is a forced fusion of the male SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Lucifer, and human girl Yuria)]]and the origins of demons[[spoiler: (They are humans or aliens forcefully hybridized with animals, by God, who is a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien/[[AncientAstronauts Ancient Astronaut]])]]. But it does directly contradict stuff found in ''Amon: Darkside of Devilman'', ''Devilman Lady'' or even the original manga, and does not explain other stuff, like the hermaphrodititism of other angels than Satan, and ignores the existence of Michael. But this is quite possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the EternalRecurrence/[[GroundhogDayLoop Time Loop]] nature of the series, and the frequent [[CosmicRetcon Cosmic Retcons]], which allows the events of past occur in numerous, different variations.* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: In the LighterAndSofter anime series Akira wears a t-shirt with an ''A'' insignia; the ''AMON'' manga also has him in the iconic yellow shirt even though it follows the original manga more closely than the anime did.* CainAndAbel: Ryo and Akira. [[spoiler: Satan and Amon in the Amon manga]]* CanonWelding: Almost all incarnations of Devilman (and Manga/ViolenceJack) can be considered linked together thanks to TheReveal in the Amon manga that [[spoiler:God himself put the entire universe in a time loop to punish Satan by making him constantly relive the death of the one he loves]].** Jun Fudo and Aoi Kurosaki from ''Manga/DevilmanLady'' appear as teachers in Akira and Miki's school, with the former being their homeroom teacher while the latter is a P.E. teacher. They are also [[GirlOnGirlIsHot lesbian lovers]] who seemingly have no problem getting it on during the middle of the school day. * CompositeCharacter: In ''Devilman vs Manga/GetterRobo'' Akira has the story and personality of his manga incarnation but the powers of the anime incarnation. Silene in that manga has the look of her manga version, the powers and personality of the anime version and little bits of later incarnations, including her love for Amon.** Amon himself in his manga, he is not as ObviouslyEvil as in the [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVA]] nor as good and gentle as Akira; Amon is just a tad more bitter than Akira turned out to be after the Devilman transformation.* ContinuitySnarl: Averted. The ''AMON'' manga makes it painfully clear that Amon took over Akira's body completely with no chance to revert back, this would negate the original story in which Akira was himself till the final clash with Satan by stating that Amon is the one in control now. ''Strange Days'' comes and has Akira in control of his body just in time for the final battle, implying that Akira was back in control sometime between ''AMON'' and ''Strange Days''; the war went on for 20 years after all.* {{Chickification}}: Miki in just about everywhere else outside the original manga, the first [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVAs]] and ''Devilman Grimoire'', originally she pushed Akira into becoming more active and insisting that he fought back against people who bullied him, eventually she liked Akira even more when he became more aggressive in his Devilman days; other adaptations, like the Anime and the final [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVA]], likes to portray Miki in a more pure light, she is not shown to be amused by Akira being aggressive and certainly does not encourage him to fight anyone; even in ''AMON'' where she retains her original personality, the aggressive part is still gone.* CrapsackWorld * {{Crossover}}: With ''Anime/MazingerZ'' in TheMovie, ''Mazinger Z vs Devilman''.** And with Manga/GetterRobo in ''Devilman vs Getter Robo'' manga. [[spoiler: Which features Devilman and Getter [[CrazyAwesome COMBINING]].]]** There's also the appearance of the Cartoon version of Devilman in the manga ''Manga/MazingerAngels''. Once again, he holds his own against giant robots. Later in that series, [[Manga/DororonEnmaKun Enma-kun]] passes Akira by at a festival, and they give each other a knowing, angry glance.** ''Chibi Chara Go Nagai World'' is a chibi crossover between Devilman, Anime/MazingerZ, Manga/GetterRobo and Manga/ViolenceJack [[spoiler: which actually weirds out the titular characters, as Violence Jack is reincarnated Akira]]* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler: Satan vs Amon in first volume of Amon: The Darkside of Devilman. And if Satan's memories are true, his fight with ArchangelMichael was even more one-sided and involved literal curbstomp.]]* DarkerAndEdgier: While the TV show is LighterAndSofter than the manga in most other respects, TV Devilman's origin story is surprisingly darker than in the manga. In the manga Akira merges with a demon, gaining its powers and the ability to transform at will. In the anime, a demon kills Akira and enters his body, essentially stealing his identity. For the rest of the show, Akira is just a disguise that a demon wears. Not even Miki knows the secret.* {{Death by Adaptation}}: In the original ''Devilman'', Dosu Roku, Masa and the fat guy with big teeth from Dosu Roku's gang went from being Akira's enemies to his friends and allies, essentially becoming human members of the Devilman Army. While the fat guy's ultimate fate is unknown, [[spoiler: Masa was killed trying to save Miki and Tare from the lynch mob while Dosu Roku played a major part in the ''AMON'' manga]]. In ''Devilman Grimoire'', [[spoiler:Dosu Roku and the fat guy are unceremoniously eaten alive by a demon in the first chapter, while Masa lasts until the second chapter, where his head is bitten off by Silene]]. This establishes the fact that Grimoire is not just a retelling of the original story but is a whole new continuity, with the ultimate fates of the main characters up in the air.* DecoyProtagonist: Akira in the ''AMON'' manga, he only stars for about half the first volume and later only appears during flashbacks, his body is completely taken over by Amon who stars the series from start to finish, but with a slight twist that in this version he isn't that different from Akira's Devilman persona itself.* DeconstructorFleet: Amon: The Darkside Of Devilman arguably takes original series and deconstructs a few things. The original manga itself seems to deconstruct or [[UnbuiltTrope unbuild]] many common shonen tropes.* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: Lord Zenon, leader of the demons and second only to Satan himself.* DemonicPossession: It only works properly on humans who've "lost their reason" (such as from madness, panic, rage, and the altered state you get into when participating in a drug-and-booze-fuelled party/orgy).* DependingOnTheArtist: Satan [[spoiler:Ryo]], in Nagai's hands s/he is not only a hermaphrodite, but Nagai draws him/her with female-like facial features and body curves, also in some designs he seems to imply that Satan's lower parts are those of a woman; other artists on the other hand, like Yu Kinutani from ''Amon/Strange Days'' and many others from ''Neo-Devilman'', maintains [[spoiler:Ryo's]] male psyche even in Satan form, in some extremes they might draw Satan with a male lower part too; and yet the breasts are present in all renditions of Satan.* DependingOnTheWriter: Satan's motivations for trying to bring his "order" upon earth; in some versions he is doing it for human- and demon-kind's well-being (in his eyes) and for Akira of course, in others he is doing ''just'' for Akira and no one else. ** [[spoiler: In Amon all of those motivations are, to some extent, true - Satan wants to create a better world for demons, but also wants to bring his own vision of order, which is why Amon opposes him. He reveals Akira's secret out of jealously towards Miki because he thinks he is the only one who can save Akira.]] * DevilButNoGod: Played in the live-action movie.* DiedStandingUp: [[spoiler: Siren]]* DisposableWoman: [[spoiler: Sachiko and little Yumi in the Amon OVA.]]* DistaffCounterpart: Manga/DevilmanLady, and Mikimura from ''Strange Days'', her Devilmen form is the exact female version of Akira's own Devilman, even closer for being less [[{{Fanservice}} fanservicey]] than the original distaff Devilman Lady Jun.* DoingInTheWizard: ''Demon Knight'' does it, ''kind-off''. Check BroadStrokes above for details.* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Everyone died except for Satan. LITERALLY. Averted in the NES game, however, as beating Satan in the final battle [[EarnYourHappyEnding wins you a happy ending]], while losing to him gets you the same ending as the manga and OAV.]]* TheDragon: Hell General Zenon to [[spoiler: Satan]]* DudeLooksLikeALady: Ryo Asuka. In Nagai's hands he is very lady-like, when he is seen in [[spoiler:Satan form Ryo ''becomes'' a woman, as Nagai draws his face with unmistakable female facial features and body curves]]; only other artists downplay Nagai's original design and maintain Ryo just in lady-like territory.* EldritchAbomination: God himself. A huge ball of light that instantly incinerates all nearby demons and [[TakenForGranite turns humans who see it]] [[MythologyGag into pillars of salt]] ''just by being there''. Even Satan has a nervous breakdown just from seeing him on TV.* EvenEvilHasStandards: Main difference between Amon in his manga and OVA - the former is clearly selfish and evil, but has his own set of standards and Silene seems to work as his MoralityPet. When you remove that, you get the latter.* EverybodysDeadDave * EvilVersusEvil: Amon vs other demons in the "Amon: The Apocalypse of Devilman". [[WordOfGod According to Go]] the conflict in the TV-series is also this, in contrast to the manga's GreyAndGreyMorality.* {{Expy}}: of ''[[Manga/MaoDante Demon Lord Dante]]'', Go Nagai's earlier work.** Ashura from the Amon manga is clearly an expy of [[Anime/MazingerZ Baron Ashura]].* FakeMemories: Nagai himself goes this way in his chapter for ''Neo-Devilman'': at the climax of the Devilman vs. Satan battle, there's a flashback of Akira meeting Ryo for the first time at school, here Ryo seems to manipulate Akira's memories to make it so they already knew each other, implying that a few traces of Satan were there since the very begining. * FateWorseThanDeath: The demon Jinmen devours humans and absorbs their living souls onto his shell.** [[spoiler: Satan's fate as revealed in Amon is to eternally lose the one s/he loves for all eternity as punishment for rebelling against God. The horrific treatments he's subjected to as Ryo in Manga/ViolenceJack (which is also part of the time loop, meaning it's also going to happen forever) may also figure into it.]]* FromBadToWorse: It starts with a demonic invasion of earth and ends with [[spoiler: the extinction of humanity]].* GodIsEvil: Not so much "evil" as [[spoiler: doesn't like demons and sees them as [[MyGreatestFailure an abomination.]]]]** This changes [[spoiler:In Amon, where it's revealed God has everything happen in an endless loop that makes '''everyone''' suffer and die just to make Satan watch Akira die by his/her own hands for eternity. Meaning that he condemns two whole sapient species to suffer and die horribly and pointlessly over and over for eternity [[DisproportionateRetribution just to punish a single rebel]] ({{Satan}}, of course).]] At that point he can be considered damn close to early ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' YHVH in terms of bastarditude.* {{Gorn}}: Not as bad as some others, but still incredibly horrific, particularly in the {{OVA}}s.* GreyAndGrayMorality: Oddly enough, no one's really evil, but no one's really good either. The demons only want humans gone because they're seen as intruders; the humans want the demons gone because they don't like the idea of dying. The only exception is [[GodIsGood God]] but even He has some dickery.* HaveWeMetYet: In Nagai's own chapter for ''Neo-Devilman'', centered on the final moments of the Devilman vs. Satan battle, there's a flashback to when Ryo and Akira first met in school. In this vision it seems that Ryo implanted fake memories of Akira and him being childhood friends; Akira even wonders if they ever met before but gets familiar with Ryo shortly after.* HeelRealization: [[spoiler: Satan--but after it's far too late to do anything about it.]]* HeroicSacrifice: The demon Kaim sacrifices his body & life to his beloved Silen so she can have the honor of killing Devilman.* HeroicWillpower: How someone can turn the tables on possessing demons and become a human/demon hybrid with the human mind still in command, i.e. a devilman.* HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct: Ryo and Akira accidentally ''create'' Hitler by going back in time to stop a demon.* HorrifyingHero: Devilman.* HotterAndSexier: Go Nagai took full advantage of Yuu Kinutani's incredibly detailed artstyle while making the AMON manga. While there's no explicit sex, many of the girls inclusing Miki herself were given more curvalicious body proportions, and humanoid female demons like Siren who are mostly in the nude were often given many pannels focusing on their breasts and buttocks; still Go Nagai averted the series taking the {{Fanservice}} route by simply making these "improvements" only a visual extra.* HowWeGotHere: The last volumes of ''AMON'' are spent building up the events that will happen in the first volumes, basically the first part is protagonized by Amon and the second part is protagonized by Akira.* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Initially only the demons shared this idea, since Earth belonged to them first, and they say humanity stole it from them. After demons and devilmen became public knowledge, Akira and other devilmen started to think like this too, as most of humanity went in a senseless rampage against demons, devilmen, or any living being that they ''thought'' was aiding the "monsters". This aspect is expanded further in the ''AMON'' manga, where Akira simply reaches the conclusion that humans are the ''real'' demons and that he will help anyone that values life, regardless of whether it's a demon, devilmen, or even human.* ImAHumanitarian: Demons tend to love to eat humans as well as each other.* InfantImmortality: Horrifically subverted, as [[spoiler: Miki's younger brother is ''beheaded'' before her very eyes. We even get to see his head and its ''crying face''.]] Also earlier on when [[spoiler: one of her brother's friends is eaten by his demon-possessed parents, while his pleas go unrecognized]]. Also, [[spoiler: when a young friend of Akira's name Sachiko is eaten and absorbed by the demon Jinmen, her sorrowful face now a part of its turtle-like shell, forcing Akira to end her pseudo-life to kill the demon, with her smashed face still visible after the shell dries. Did I mention that she also tells him from the shell the exact manner of her horrific death?]] During [[spoiler: the demon invasion, a mother watches her family torn apart by a tentacled demon, including her infant, before she herself is split in two from crotch to head.]]** However, this trope is played straight in the live action movie, were[[spoiler:The only survivor characters are Susumu and Miko after Satan destroys the world.]]* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: While nobody except maybe God is actually out-and-out evil, pretty much ''everyone'' is quick to leap to the bloodiest and goriest option possible. By the end, Akira gives up trying to care about or save anyone. If Manga/ViolenceJack is Akira, it's a wonder he isn't even ''more'' callous. * [[spoiler: KillEmAll]]* {{Lesbian Jock}}: Aoi is this in ''Devilman Grimoire''.* LighterAndSofter: The 1972 anime series in comparison with the manga. Lots of changes to the story were made, the violence and nudity were considerably toned down, lots of comic relief was included, [[spoiler: and most [[SparedByAdaptation of the characters who died at the end of the manga are still alive in the last chapter of the first anime series]], which also has a BitterSweetEnding instead of the tragic conclusion of the manga.]]* {{Lipstick Lesbian}}: Jun is this in ''Devilman Grimoire''.* LoveMakesYouCrazy: [[spoiler:Ryo/Satan]] sacrifices many of his strongest demons to ensure Akira becomes Devilman.** [[spoiler: S/he admits to being crazy at the end of the final volume of Amon.]]* LoveTriangle: Akira/Miki/Ryo. Developed further in ''Manga/ViolenceJack''.* MadeOfPlasticine* ManlyTears: Akira upon [[spoiler: being kissed by Miki for the first and only time and then seeing her disappear in the air, forever...]] Amon is StupidEvil enough to laugh at him for this. [[spoiler: As could be expected, this just doesn't end well for him]].* {{Meaningful Echo}}: [[http://mangafox.me/manga/devilman_grimoire/v01/c001/45.html Compare this scene of Miki from Devilman Grimoire]] with [[http://mangafox.me/manga/devilman/v05/c001.3/42.html this one from Devilman.]] Also compare [[http://mangafox.me/manga/devilman/v05/c001.3/13.html these]] [[http://mangafox.me/manga/devilman_grimoire/v01/c001/48.html two.]]* MsFanservice: Miki. Also Lala in the 70's TV anime.* MutualKill: Silen tries this on Akira after he mortally wounds her. It doesn't quite work out for her.* {{Mythology Gag}}: In chapter 10 of ''Devilman Grimoire'', Akira fights an ice demon who bears a resemblance to Ryo Asuka. The end of the chapter is very similar to the end of the original manga, [[spoiler:except Akira and his foe's positions are reversed, with Akira revealed to be talking to the upper half of the demon's corpse. [[UnexplainedRecovery He gets better]], though]]. Also doubles as a [[ContinuityNod continuity nod.]]** In chapter 13 of ''Grimoire'', after Akira and Miki have made love for the first time, Akira is shown hugging Miki against himself in a panel that is [[spoiler:identical to the one in the original Devilman where he hugs her severed head to his chest after slaughtering the lynch mob that murdered and dismembered her]].* NobleDemon: Prime example would have to be Kaim, who's more than willing to [[spoiler: tear off his own head and offer to [[CombiningMecha merge with the dying Siren]] for one last desperation attack against Devilman]].* NoFourthWall: [[http://mangafox.me/manga/devilman/v03/c001.3/44.html Akira telling the readers that the story is going to be]] [[{{Foreshadowing}} much darker...]]* [[spoiler: [[YouAreTheDemons No Ryo, You Are Satan]] ]]* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:Miki's kid brother]] is possibly the best example in the manga.* OneMythToExplainThemAll: Akira's friend Ryo tell him that Demons once roamed the Earth before being frozen in the arctic while humans dominated the planet. He also mentions that some demons got free, and could be the true causes of monster myths like Wolfmen, Dracula, and Ogres. * OrderVersusChaos: In Amon manga Satan and God are representing two different orders - one that involves demons and one that doesn't. Which is why [[spoiler: Amon, who is clearly chaotic, refuses to ally himself with Satan, as he sees no difference betwen Satan and God]].* PluckyGirl: Miki Makimura, to the point that [[ActionGirl you can play as her in the NES game]], and even have to defeat a mini-boss while using her. [[spoiler: Which makes [[StuffedIntoTheFridge her horrendous death by]] ''[[{{Gorn}} stabbing and dismembering]]'' ''even more'' tear jerking]]* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Ryo, is in fact, the {{hermaphrodite}} Satan, who took the body of a human to learn mankind's weaknesses and plot their demise.]]* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: A lot of Devilman's enemies manage to garner one from our hero. * {{Satan}}: [[spoiler:Ryo Asuka]]* ShapeShifterBaggage: Averted. Ryo explains that when he moved the heavily burned, demon-possessed corpse of [[spoiler:his "father" Dr. Asuka,]] the body's mass was twice as what it should be.* ShrinkingViolet: Akira before merging with Amon, though he reverts back to this whenever Miki flirts with him.* SlasherSmile: Though it's a given with Devilman, Akira will occasionally do this as well.* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: An interesting case. The manga is gut-wrenchingly cynical but Nagai (who wrote ''Devilman'' as a cautionary tale) is firmly idealistic and believes that humanity is heading for a bright future. The writing process took such a heavy toll on him that he had to write the ''much'' LighterAndSofter ''Anime/MazingerZ'' on the side to blow off steam.* SomethingPerson* SparedByAdaptation:[[spoiler:Miki]] in the first anime series,[[spoiler:Susumu]] in the live action movie.* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Shirenu has been spelled Silen, Sirene, Silene, Siren,... The list goes on and on.** The name of the Hell General serving Satan is either Zenon or Xenon.* StuffedIntoTheFridge: [[spoiler: Miki and Sachiko.]]* StupidEvil: Amon at one point in the ''Apocalypse of Devilman'' OVA, but the prize goes to the demon sent to kill Miki and Michiru in ''Devilman vs Getter Robo'' - Akira saves Miki and the demon escapes with Michiru, but, instead of outright killing her, he wastes time wondering if he should eat or rape her and concludes to do both right before Akira finds them and kills him.* [[spoiler: SufficientlyAdvancedAlien /AncientAstronauts: What God, and by extension Satan, Amon and Sirene are revealed to originally have been in ''Demon Knight'', the official prequel manga to Devilman. Seems to outright contradict some important story elements from both the original manga, and ''Amon: Darkside of Devilman'', but look up BroadStrokes above.]]* SummoningRitual: Used by Miki in ''Devilman Grimoire'' to summon demons.[[spoiler:Unfortunately ''actual'' demons show up and they weren't summoned by the ritual.]]* SuperPoweredEvilSide: Amon was originally this, but he transcended to pure evil after [[spoiler: Miki Makamura got killed]].** Might be an UnbuiltTrope as it's probably one of the first if not the first use of it in manga and one of the rare instances that shows how having one corrupts and changes a once cowardly boy into a BloodKnight.* ThematicRoguesGallery: Demons, duh.* TookALevelInBadass: At the start of the manga, Akira Fudo is so weak and timid, Miki has to stand up to bullies for him. After he merges with Amon, not only does [[{{Squee}} Miki take notice of his swagger]], Akira literally beats his bullies one handed.** While Miki became a non action girl, and Ryu got to show off his shooting skills later, in the OVA Akira shows some bravery, as well as that missing toughness not seen in the manga. He stands up to three goons who killed nearly all the rabbits in a pen, all except one, he takes a bike chain to the head and several punches but refuses to let them have the rabbit. They back off when their leader is impressed.*** Also in ''Devilman Grimoire'', after losing one of his feet, Akira decides to stay behind and let the demons devour him in order to buy time for Miki to escape.** After ending up [[{{StuffedIntoTheFridge}} stuffed into the fridge]] in the original manga and a mute, quadruple-amputee sex slave in ''Violence Jack'', Miki has become this in the 2010s. She becomes a Getter pilot in ''Devilman vs Getter Robo'', and in ''Devilman Grimoire'' she's a witch who [[spoiler: later becomes a Devilman.]]* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: ''Devilman Saga'' takes place in the year 2025.* WarIsHell: This is THE real, core theme of the series, according WordOfGod.* WaterfallShower: Shirenu takes a shower under a melting glacier in the 2nd OVA.* WorldOfHam* WouldHurtAChild: Amon. Especially in the third OVA.----